J'lem mayoral hopeful Dan Birron of the Green Leaf party wants a clean city, equal rights for all residents and public transportation on Shabbat.
By PEGGY CIDORbirron 224.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The fourth contender on the roster for the upcoming mayoral elections is anything but an average candidate. Veteran TV producer Dan Birron is also known in the city as one of the leading figures of the "local Bohemia" - artists, media and other entertainers who were mostly active during the 1970s and still dream of those sweet days (and nights!).
Birron, who is also the founder and accordionist of the famous student dance company (mostly folk dances, performed in Israel and abroad), has opened the downtown Musical Bistro-Pub whose patrons are mostly middle-aged Jerusalemites.
Birron, who waited until the last day to register as a candidate, says it wasn't his own idea. "The hevre of the Green Leaf party came to talk to me and tried to persuade me to run because, they said, they didn't have anyone to vote for."
Birron participated in the packed AACI and Jerusalem Post-sponsored meeting that took place last Saturday night at the Great Synagogue. "They almost didn't let me in. The guards at the entrance were not sure I was really one of the candidates," he says, referring to his unusual appearance. Over two meters tall, with long, curly hair and traditionally wearing jeans and an earring, the 68-year-old Birron does not look his age and certainly differs a lot from haredi candidate Meir Porush, billionaire Arkadi Gaydamak and even hi-tech golden boy Nir Barkat. "But after a while, one of the organizers came and convinced them to let me in. 'Otherwise,' I told the guards, 'this whole meeting is not worthwhile,'" laughs Birron.
This interview almost didn't happen as well. The day after the Great Synagogue meeting, Birron slept late. His spokesman, Noam Kuzar, explained that he couldn't deliver any statement for Birron, invoking the classic spokesman's platitude: "I don't talk to the press." A couple of hours later, Birron himself returned the call and invited In Jerusalem's correspondent to join him over "coffee, tea or anything else you might like to drink" and talk about his candidacy and his plans.
Birron was already waiting at the entrance of his bar in the Dorot Rishonim mall. He apologized in advance, explaining that he first had to take in all the merchandise awaiting him at the door. He graciously thanked this journalist for helping him shlep a few bottles of juice inside, and then started to answer questions, most of the time with a big smile on his face.
"We are also running a list for the city council," he says. "We will take care of ecology issues, freedom of the individual, the struggle against the haredi takeover, and see to it that this municipality stops wasting our money for nothing. We are for green, clean and equality. We are for the preservation of our historical sites and are totally against privatization."
All these issues are already taken care of by most of the other lists and candidates.
I know. In fact, until a few days ago my choice for mayor was Nir Barkat. But then I heard that he was seriously considering joining forces with [Aryeh] Deri, and then his closeness with the National Union party, with [Avigdor] Lieberman and the last issue - his declaration that he wants to build a new neighborhood in Anata - that was too much. What we need here is real coexistence between us and the Arab residents, not another Jewish implantation.
So you decided to run yourself?
Yes, I had no choice. I thought if those are our candidates, someone has to play the role of the boy in the fairy tale. You know, the one who said loud and clear that the emperor had no clothes. That's an important role.
And besides your role in a fairy tale, what are you planning?
We have to take care of so many things. For example, I think we should hold a referendum among Arab residents. Those who want to stay with us should be given all the rights - all of them. And in return, they should be ready to do civil service. By the way, this should also be done with the haredim - total equality in rights and duties.
What do you have in mind regarding the city's needs?
In general, I think the state and the administration should be involved as little as possible. In my opinion, the less we feel the state, the better. Regarding the population of the city, for instance, I don't think we should enlarge it - what we already have is enough. First we should improve the quality of life for those who are already here. We should increase the budgets for culture, arts, education. Culture is not to be considered as the haredim think "bitul Torah"; it is our [secular residents'] way of life. Also we should see that all the children in the city, haredim included, study some important subjects besides Torah - such as math, history, civics, English, sciences. They have to be prepared for life, too.
Where would you get the money for all this?
I know you can't get it from selling tickets for concerts or the theater. We have to obtain a large amount of funding from the state as well.
What else is on your agenda?
I want to have public transportation on Shabbat. It's not fair that only the rich, who can afford cars, can get around in Jerusalem on Shabbat. Why do they have some buses and taxi services functioning in Tel Aviv on Shabbat and we don't? There's no reason it shouldn't be the same here. I want to create a 24/7 public transportation system. The light rail is also good - once it's finished, of course. And we don't need to add to the pollution - we can use electrical cars and the like.
What would you do to improve the cleanliness of the streets?
It's very important. I don't understand this thing about cleaning the streets - why is it so difficult to achieve? I think we should impose fines on residents who litter their environment. It's not enough to clean, you have to keep it clean once you've sent the teams to work on the streets. For instance, I intend to propose awarding prizes to residents who plant a nice garden around their house or things like that.
What about taxes and arnona?
Oh! I'm glad you asked. I am aware of this problem. I will propose a property tax (arnona) reduction for students who rent apartments downtown.
But you know that Mayor Uri Lupolianski already did that, and the result was a rise in rents.
I know, I know. I have done my homework. I will give the reduction in the arnona only, not in the rent - so the landlords won't have any chance to raise the rents, and only the students will benefit from it.
What if you're not elected?
I will stay on the city council. Yes, of course, I'm taking this very seriously. I will come to the committee meetings and raise my hand only for good proposals. I will participate in the city council meetings. You'll see, it will be very interesting. I can promise you and the residents of Jerusalem that we won't have a dull moment there.
Will you try to pass a decision to allow free use of marijuana at the city council too?
Are you kidding me? Of course not! This issue about marijuana in our list is not so prominent - apart from the fact that we all know that hundreds of thousands of Israelis have become criminals because they smoke a joint from time to time and it is still forbidden by the law - but we're not into this. Our goal is to allow adults to decide for themselves what's good or bad, not to encourage anyone to smoke marijuana. That's not our objective.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
